Nail File: Cristina Foster of Let Them Have Polish!

With a staggering 602 000 followers on her Facebook and a loyal fan base, Cristina is one of the top nail bloggers in the US. It’s easy to see why, great swatches of the most recent collections, striking nail art and of course, Cristina’s personality make for a great read. Her polish collection currently stands at “1,552 shades strong” and today we have a chance to sample crème de la crème. Read on!

3. What do you do for living? I’m currently a full time beauty blogger. I am hoping to enroll in nail tech school fairly soon to make things official. It has been a long time dream, and goal, of mine to become a licensed nail tech.

4. Why nails? Why NOT nails ;D?! The possibilities are so endless when it comes to nail color, and nail art. Nails have become such an extension of my style. No outfit is complete until I’ve decided what my nails will look like.

5. When did you start your blog? I started LTHP back in August of 2010.

6. How often do you post? I’m currently posting Monday through Friday. I tend to take weekends off to stay fresh, and also enjoy a “weekend mani”. During the week I don’t really get to actually wear much nail art.

7. Highlights of your blogging career, achievements? One of my most memorable moments was when The Makeup Show made it’s debut in Orlando, FL in November of 2011. I was asked to speak on a panel, which was hosted by James Vincent. On this panel I was accompanied by Courtney of Phyrra.net, Brittany of Clumps of Mascara, Koren of EnKore Makeup and Elessa Jade of Pursebuzz. The panel centered on the topic of how blogging has become such a movement in the beauty industry. It was an honor to represent nail bloggers among such a distinguished panel.

In 2012 I also had the pleasure of being featured in Nail It! Magazine. This was my first magazine feature and it still feels fairly surreal.

8. Nail care product you can’t live without right now is… My KBShimmer Pink Sugar scented cuticle oil pen (which I have also been known to use as perfume).

9. The best nail care tip? Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!! I cannot stress the importance of keeping your hands, nails and cuticles moisturized. I find that my nails are the most problematic when I’ve been slacking on the moisturizing. I always make sure to keep yummy-smelling creams stashed, just about, everywhere.

10. Favourite main stream nail polish brand? This is always a hard question for me to answer because every brand has certain strengths that I love them for. My top three brands would have to be O.P.I., Zoya and China Glaze.

11. Favourite indie polish brand? Ooohhh, tricky once again. The word “indie” covers such a wide range of brands now. In terms of handmade indie polish I would have to say KBShimmer, hands down. Christy is a master when it comes to creating amazing and innovative nail colors. But then we now have this category that is somewhere between handmade and mainstream. I like to call them “boutique brands”. There I have to go with A England. Adina sure knows how to tie her inspirations beautifully into her colors.

12. The most treasured/favorite nail polish in your collection is… I actually had to sit back and give this question a lot of thought. I think it may just be O.P.I Mad as a Hatter. That glitterbomb was my first hardcore “lemming”. I just HAD to have it. By the time I had discovered it, Mad as a Hatter had already become a “hard to find” polish(which I think added to my lust for it). My wonderful husband managed to hunt it down the entire Alice in Wonderland collection for me, and for that reason also it has a special place in my arsenal.

13. What are your favourite local nail polish brands? Cult Nails, for sure. Not only are they local to the USA, they are also located in my home state of Florida. Cult Nails is a family business and they make beautiful polishes of unbelievable quality.

14. What nail polish are you craving right now? Need more EMERALD!! 2013 was supposed to be the year of Emerald, but I was certainly left wanting more.

15. Favourite colours? The rainbow. Is that a cheesy answer? I feel like it’s a cheesy answer haha. But seriously, how could I choose a favorite color when there are so many beautiful shades to inspire me?

16. Favorite pattern/nail art trend? I am really loving chevrons right now. Even though I’ve not had a chance to do a chevron nails look myself, I’ve been loving them on others.

17. What’s your best tip for painting your other hand? First and foremost, patience and practice. Other than that, I always make sure my hand is on a flat surface, not lifted or bent awkwardly. I tend to let the brush do the work for me, applying as little pressure as possible so that the color just glides over the nail.

18. The funniest/the most adventurous nail art you have ever created? I’ve done so many crazy nails over the years, it is a bit hard to narrow down. However, in recent months, I have to give it to my birthday manicure. I went crazy mixing techniques, colors and glitters. These were fun to work on and stare at.

19. How do you get inspired for your nail art? With me, it is completely random. Sometimes the name of a polish itself will trigger a look. Other times a color palette, of color itself will inspire looks. I’m not really one to re-create patterns and such on my nails. My freehand skills are lacking so I tend to avoid looks that require much freehand skills. I’m very much into abstract looks that just flow naturally from me.

Five Fast Nail Questions:

Black or white? White

Striping tape or free hand? Striping Tape

To match or not to match (nails to lipstick)? Depends on my mood really. Usually I avoid matching things though.

Nail icon? Fellow nail blogger Sarah of Chalkboard Nails.

When in doubt do… DOTS!!

Cristina Foster was interviewed by Maria Vlezko in February 2013. All images – provided by Cristina.